Efforts launched to rescue last Azovstal defenders as bloody steel plant battle ends

Ukrainian serviceman Anton pets a cat in a basement previously used by Russian soldiers as a temporary base in the village of Malaya Rohan, Kharkiv region (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Efforts were underway on Tuesday to rescue the last of the defenders inside the Azovstal steel plant in the ruined city of Mariupol after Ukrainian officials said the fighters had “completed their mission” and there was no way to free the plant by military means.

The Ukrainian military avoided using the term “surrender” to describe the effort to pull out of the steel plant to save as many lives as possible. Officials planned to keep trying to save an unknown number of fighters who stayed behind. It was unclear if soldiers evacuated to Russian-controlled areas would be considered prisoners of war.